


Bloody tape

by kate_the_reader



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Advent Oddments, Christmas, M/M, Wrapping Gifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 16:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12963918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate_the_reader/pseuds/kate_the_reader
Summary: Eames can’t help the bubble of pure fondness that wells up at the sight of Arthur -- competent, neat, precise Arthur -- caught in this position.





	Bloody tape

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hooptedoodle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hooptedoodle/gifts).



> Story four in my contribution to Advent Oddments, and it even has a Christmassy theme!
> 
> Thanks, again, to my dear hooptedoodle, who I delight to make laugh.
> 
> And to my partners in fic, mycitruspocket and Ms BrightsideSH.

Eames is standing in the entryway taking off his damp coat and shoes.

“Damn! Bugger!” The sound of Arthur swearing and falling into his Britishisms never fails to make him smile. He walks down the hall in his socks and peeps into Arthur’s study without being seen. He’s sitting on the floor surrounded by wrapping paper and boxes, sticky tape twisted around his fingers.

He’s torn. He doesn’t want Arthur to think he’s spying, he wants to help, but he can’t help the bubble of pure fondness that wells up at the sight of Arthur -- competent, neat, precise Arthur -- caught in this position. 

“Oh god! Bloody tape!”

Eames clears his throat softly, and Arthur looks up, scowling.

“Don’t laugh!”

“Never, darling.”

“This bloody tape! It’s all bollocksed up!”

Eames really can’t help his laugh now. “Oh darling, don’t be cross! It’s just, do you know you come over all British when you’re frustrated?”

“Do I?” And Arthur’s face scrunches into a million dimples and he laughs. “You must be a bad influence on me.”

“Undoubtedly, love. Would you like a hand?”

“Fuck yes,” says Arthur. “Yes please.”

So Eames sits down on the floor with him and peels the tape from his fingers.

“What have we here?” he says, pulling a flat box from the chaos. 

“It’s for Ari.”

Eames lifts the lid and reveals an exquisite silk scarf. “All her favourite colours.”

Working together they easily wrap the box in elegant snowflake printed paper, and secure the flaps with sticky tape, and work their way through several more until there’s just one left, a much bigger flat box, completely anonymous. 

“What’s this one?”

Arthur blushes. “You weren’t meant to see that one.”

It’s a big box, bound to be tricky. “I’ll help you anyway. And I promise to be surprised.”

Arthur shakes his head. “Okay.”

They wrap the box. All is going smoothly until Arthur reaches for the tape. “Bloody tape’s run out!”

“Hang on a sec,” says Eames, becoming more British himself. He unfolds himself from the floor and goes to the kitchen junk drawer. In the back is a ball of string.

“String?”

“Sure. Put your finger here while I tie it.”

On Christmas morning he unties the string with a flourish that makes Arthur laugh. Inside is a shirt in an amazing shade of grey shot through with green.

“Your eyes,” says Arthur, and Eames can’t say anything for quite a long minute.

***

And ever after, Arthur never calls sticky tape anything other than “bloody tape”, just to make Eames laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts: Floor, "yes please", string


End file.
